The Oscar-winning director of Searching for Sugar Man committed suicide, the Swedish filmmaker's brother Johar Bendjelloul confirmed to Swedish media. "I can confirm that it was suicide and that he had been depressed for a short period of time," Bendjelloul's brother told tabloid Aftonbladet (via the Daily Mail)."Life is not always so easy...It's the worst. I don't know how to handle it."

Searching for Sugar Man, which chronicled two men's successful quest to debunk the rumor that American musician Sixto Rodriguez was no longer living, won Bendjelloul the Oscar for Best Documentary in 2013. He also won numerous other awards, including the BAFTA, Director's Guild of America Award, Producer's Guild of America Award, Writer's Guild of America Award and the Sundance Audience Award.

Before his successful filmmaking career, Bendjelloul was a child actor. When he was around 12, he appeared in the Swedish children's TV series Ebba och Didrik.